Quick ?s
Cheat Sheets
Man Pages
The Lynx
Software
VIM(1)									VIM(1)



NAME
       vim - Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor

SYNOPSIS
       vim [options] [file ..]
       vim [options] -
       vim [options] -t tag
       vim [options] -q [errorfile]

       ex
       view
       gvim gview evim eview
       rvim rview rgvim rgview

DESCRIPTION
       Vim  is a text editor that is upwards compatible to Vi.	It can be used
       to edit all kinds of plain text.  It is especially useful  for  editing
       programs.

       There  are a lot of enhancements above Vi: multi level undo, multi win
       dows and buffers, syntax highlighting, command line  editing,  filename
       completion,   on-line   help,   visual  selection,  etc..   See	":help
       vi_diff.txt" for a summary of the differences between Vim and Vi.

       While running Vim a lot of help can be obtained from the  on-line  help
       system,	with the ":help" command.  See the ON-LINE HELP section below.

       Most often Vim is started to edit a single file with the command

	    vim file

       More generally Vim is started with:

	    vim [options] [filelist]

       If the filelist is missing, the editor will start with an empty buffer.
       Otherwise  exactly  one out of the following four may be used to choose
       one or more files to be edited.

       file ..	   A list of filenames.  The first one	will  be  the  current
		   file  and  read  into the buffer.  The cursor will be posi
		   tioned on the first line of the buffer.  You can get to the
		   other  files with the ":next" command.  To edit a file that
		   starts with a dash, precede the filelist with "--".

       -	   The file to edit is read from  stdin.   Commands  are  read
		   from stderr, which should be a tty.

       -t {tag}    The file to edit and the initial cursor position depends on
		   a "tag", a sort of goto label.  {tag} is looked up  in  the
		   tags file, the associated file becomes the current file and
		   the associated command is executed.	Mostly	this  is  used
		   for	C  programs,  in  which case {tag} could be a function
		   name.  The effect is that the file containing that function
		   becomes  the  current  file and the cursor is positioned on
		   the start of the function.  See ":help tag-commands".

       -q [errorfile]
		   Start in quickFix mode.  The file [errorfile] is  read  and
		   the	first  error is displayed.  If [errorfile] is omitted,
		   the	filename  is  obtained	from  the  errorfile  option
		   (defaults  to  "AztecC.Err"	for the Amiga, "errors.err" on
		   other systems).  Further errors can be jumped to  with  the
		   ":cn" command.  See ":help quickfix".

       Vim behaves differently, depending on the name of the command (the exe
       cutable may still be the same file).

       vim	 The "normal" way, everything is default.

       ex	 Start in Ex mode.  Go to Normal mode with the ":vi"  command.
		 Can also be done with the "-e" argument.

       view	 Start	in read-only mode.  You will be protected from writing
		 the files.  Can also be done with the "-R" argument.

       gvim gview
		 The GUI version.  Starts a new window.  Can also be done with
		 the "-g" argument.

       evim eview
		 The GUI version in easy mode.	Starts a new window.  Can also
		 be done with the "-y" argument.

       rvim rview rgvim rgview
		 Like the above, but with restrictions.  It will not be possi
		 ble  to  start  shell	commands, or suspend Vim.  Can also be
		 done with the "-Z" argument.

OPTIONS
       The options may be given in  any  order,  before  or  after  filenames.
       Options without an argument can be combined after a single dash.

       +[num]	   For	the  first  file the cursor will be positioned on line
		   "num".  If "num" is missing, the cursor will be  positioned
		   on the last line.

       +/{pat}	   For	the  first  file  the cursor will be positioned on the
		   first occurrence of {pat}.  See ":help search-pattern"  for
		   the available search patterns.

       +{command}

       -c {command}
		   {command}  will  be	executed after the first file has been
		   read.  {command} is interpreted as an Ex command.   If  the
		   {command}  contains	spaces	it  must be enclosed in double
		   quotes (this depends on the shell that is used).   Example:
		   Vim "+set si" main.c
		   Note: You can use up to 10 "+" or "-c" commands.

       -S {file}   {file}  will be sourced after the first file has been read.
		   This is equivalent to -c "source  {file}".	{file}	cannot
		   start with -.  If {file} is omitted "Session.vim" is used
		   (only works when -S is the last argument).

       --cmd {command}
		   Like using "-c", but the command is	executed  just	before
		   processing  any  vimrc file.  You can use up to 10 of these
		   commands, independently from "-c" commands.

       -A	   If Vim has been compiled with ARABIC  support  for  editing
		   right-to-left  oriented  files and Arabic keyboard mapping,
		   this option starts Vim in Arabic  mode,  i.e.  arabic  is
		   set.  Otherwise an error message is given and Vim aborts.

       -b	   Binary  mode.  A few options will be set that makes it pos
		   sible to edit a binary or executable file.

       -C	   Compatible.	Set the compatible option.  This  will	make
		   Vim	behave	mostly	like  Vi,  even  though  a .vimrc file
		   exists.

       -d	   Start in diff mode.	There should be two or three file name
		   arguments.	Vim  will  open all the files and show differ
		   ences between them.	Works like vimdiff(1).

       -d {device} Open {device} for use as a terminal.  Only  on  the	Amiga.
		   Example: "-d con:20/30/600/150".

       -D	   Debugging.	Go  to debugging mode when executing the first
		   command from a script.

       -e	   Start Vim in Ex mode, just like the executable  was	called
		   "ex".

       -E	   Start Vim in improved Ex mode, just like the executable was
		   called "exim".

       -f	   Foreground.	For the GUI version, Vim  will	not  fork  and
		   detach from the shell it was started in.  On the Amiga, Vim
		   is not restarted to open a new window.  This option	should
		   be  used  when  Vim is executed by a program that will wait
		   for the edit session to finish (e.g. mail).	On  the  Amiga
		   the ":sh" and ":!" commands will not work.

       --nofork    Foreground.	 For  the  GUI	version, Vim will not fork and
		   detach from the shell it was started in.

       -F	   If Vim has been compiled with  FKMAP  support  for  editing
		   right-to-left  oriented  files  and Farsi keyboard mapping,
		   this option starts Vim in  Farsi  mode,  i.e.  fkmap  and
		   rightleft  are  set.  Otherwise an error message is given
		   and Vim aborts.

       -g	   If Vim has been compiled  with  GUI	support,  this	option
		   enables  the  GUI.	If  no GUI support was compiled in, an
		   error message is given and Vim aborts.

       -h	   Give a bit of help about the  command  line	arguments  and
		   options.  After this Vim exits.

       -H	   If Vim has been compiled with RIGHTLEFT support for editing
		   right-to-left oriented files and Hebrew  keyboard  mapping,
		   this  option  starts  Vim  in Hebrew mode, i.e. hkmap and
		   rightleft are set.  Otherwise an error message  is  given
		   and Vim aborts.

       -i {viminfo}
		   When  using	the  viminfo file is enabled, this option sets
		   the filename to use, instead of the	default  "~/.viminfo".
		   This can also be used to skip the use of the .viminfo file,
		   by giving the name "NONE".

       -L	   Same as -r.

       -l	   Lisp mode.  Sets the lisp and showmatch options on.

       -m	   Modifying files is disabled.  Resets  the  write  option.
		   You	can still modify the buffer, but writing a file is not
		   possible.

       -M	   Modifications not allowed.  The  modifiable	and  write
		   options  will be unset, so that changes are not allowed and
		   files can not be written.  Note that these options  can  be
		   set to enable making modifications.

       -N	   No-compatible  mode.   Reset the compatible option.	This
		   will make Vim behave a bit better, but less Vi  compatible,
		   even though a .vimrc file does not exist.

       -n	   No  swap file will be used.	Recovery after a crash will be
		   impossible.	Handy if you want to edit a  file  on  a  very
		   slow  medium  (e.g.	floppy).   Can also be done with ":set
		   uc=0".  Can be undone with ":set uc=200".

       -nb	   Become an editor server for NetBeans.   See	the  docs  for
		   details.

       -o[N]	   Open N windows stacked.  When N is omitted, open one window
		   for each file.

       -O[N]	   Open N windows side by side.  When N is omitted,  open  one
		   window for each file.

       -p[N]	   Open N tab pages.  When N is omitted, open one tab page for
		   each file.

       -R	   Read-only mode.  The readonly option will  be  set.	 You
		   can still edit the buffer, but will be prevented from acci
		   dently overwriting a file.  If you do want to  overwrite  a
		   file,  add  an  exclamation	mark  to the Ex command, as in
		   ":w!".  The -R option  also	implies  the  -n  option  (see
		   below).   The  readonly  option  can  be reset with ":set
		   noro".  See ":help readonly".

       -r	   List swap files, with  information  about  using  them  for
		   recovery.

       -r {file}   Recovery  mode.  The swap file is used to recover a crashed
		   editing session.  The swap file is a  file  with  the  same
		   filename as the text file with ".swp" appended.  See ":help
		   recovery".

       -s	   Silent mode.  Only when started as "Ex" or  when  the  "-e"
		   option was given before the "-s" option.

       -s {scriptin}
		   The	script file {scriptin} is read.  The characters in the
		   file are interpreted as if you had typed  them.   The  same
		   can be done with the command ":source! {scriptin}".	If the
		   end of the file is reached before the editor exits, further
		   characters are read from the keyboard.

       -T {terminal}
		   Tells  Vim  the  name  of the terminal you are using.  Only
		   required when the automatic way doesnt work.  Should be  a
		   terminal  known  to Vim (builtin) or defined in the termcap
		   or terminfo file.

       -u {vimrc}  Use the commands in the file {vimrc}  for  initializations.
		   All	the  other  initializations  are skipped.  Use this to
		   edit a special kind of files.  It can also be used to  skip
		   all	initializations by giving the name "NONE".  See ":help
		   initialization" within vim for more details.

       -U {gvimrc} Use the commands in the file {gvimrc} for  GUI  initializa
		   tions.   All the other GUI initializations are skipped.  It
		   can also be used to skip all GUI initializations by	giving
		   the	name "NONE".  See ":help gui-init" within vim for more
		   details.

       -V[N]	   Verbose.  Give messages about which files are  sourced  and
		   for	reading and writing a viminfo file.  The optional num
		   ber N is the value for verbose.  Default is 10.

       -v	   Start Vim in Vi mode, just like the executable  was	called
		   "vi".   This  only has effect when the executable is called
		   "ex".

       -w {scriptout}
		   All the characters that you type are recorded in  the  file
		   {scriptout},  until	you  exit  Vim.  This is useful if you
		   want to create a script file to be used with  "vim  -s"  or
		   ":source!".	If the {scriptout} file exists, characters are
		   appended.

       -W {scriptout}
		   Like -w, but an existing file is overwritten.

       -x	   Use encryption when writing files.  Will prompt for a crypt
		   key.

       -X	   Dont  connect to the X server.  Shortens startup time in a
		   terminal, but the window title and clipboard  will  not  be
		   used.

       -y	   Start Vim in easy mode, just like the executable was called
		   "evim" or "eview".  Makes Vim behave like a	click-and-type
		   editor.

       -Z	   Restricted  mode.   Works  like  the executable starts with
		   "r".

       --	   Denotes the end of the options.  Arguments after this  will
		   be  handled	as  a  file  name.  This can be used to edit a
		   filename that starts with a -.

       --echo-wid  GTK GUI only: Echo the Window ID on stdout.

       --help	   Give a help message and exit, just like "-h".

       --literal   Take file name arguments literally,	do  not  expand  wild
		   cards.   This has no effect on Unix where the shell expands
		   wildcards.

       --noplugin  Skip loading plugins.  Implied by -u NONE.

       --remote    Connect to a Vim server and make it edit the files given in
		   the rest of the arguments.  If no server is found a warning
		   is given and the files are edited in the current Vim.

       --remote-expr {expr}
		   Connect to a Vim server, evaluate {expr} in	it  and  print
		   the result on stdout.

       --remote-send {keys}
		   Connect to a Vim server and send {keys} to it.

       --remote-silent
		   As  --remote,  but  without	the  warning when no server is
		   found.

       --remote-wait
		   As --remote, but Vim does not exit  until  the  files  have
		   been edited.

       --remote-wait-silent
		   As --remote-wait, but without the warning when no server is
		   found.

       --serverlist
		   List the names of all Vim servers that can be found.

       --servername {name}
		   Use {name} as the server name.  Used for the  current  Vim,
		   unless used with a --remote argument, then its the name of
		   the server to connect to.

       --socketid {id}
		   GTK GUI only: Use the GtkPlug  mechanism  to  run  gvim  in
		   another window.

       --version   Print version information and exit.

ON-LINE HELP
       Type  ":help"  in Vim to get started.  Type ":help subject" to get help
       on a specific subject.  For example: ":help ZZ" to  get	help  for  the
       "ZZ"  command.	Use  and CTRL-D to complete subjects (":help cmd
       line-completion").  Tags are present to jump from one place to  another
       (sort of hypertext links, see ":help").	All documentation files can be
       viewed in this way, for example ":help syntax.txt".

FILES
       /usr/share/vim/vim70/doc/*.txt
		      The Vim documentation files.  Use ":help	doc-file-list"
		      to get the complete list.

       /usr/share/vim/vim70/doc/tags
		      The  tags file used for finding information in the docu
		      mentation files.

       /usr/share/vim/vim70/syntax/syntax.vim
		      System wide syntax initializations.

       /usr/share/vim/vim70/syntax/*.vim
		      Syntax files for various languages.

       /usr/share/vim/vimrc
		      System wide Vim initializations.

       ~/.vimrc       Your personal Vim initializations.

       /usr/share/vim/gvimrc
		      System wide gvim initializations.

       ~/.gvimrc      Your personal gvim initializations.

       /usr/share/vim/vim70/optwin.vim
		      Script used for the ":options" command, a  nice  way  to
		      view and set options.

       /usr/share/vim/vim70/menu.vim
		      System wide menu initializations for gvim.

       /usr/share/vim/vim70/bugreport.vim
		      Script to generate a bug report.	See ":help bugs".

       /usr/share/vim/vim70/filetype.vim
		      Script  to  detect  the type of a file by its name.  See
		      ":help filetype".

       /usr/share/vim/vim70/scripts.vim
		      Script to detect the type of a  file  by	its  contents.
		      See ":help filetype".

       /usr/share/vim/*.ps
		      Files used for PostScript printing.

       For recent info read the VIM home page:
       

SEE ALSO
       vimtutor(1)

AUTHOR
       Most of Vim was made by Bram Moolenaar, with a lot of help from others.
       See ":help credits" in Vim.
       Vim is based on Stevie, worked on by: Tim Thompson,  Tony  Andrews  and
       G.R.  (Fred) Walter.  Although hardly any of the original code remains.

BUGS
       Probably.  See ":help todo" for a list of known problems.

       Note that a number of things that may be regarded as bugs by some,  are
       in  fact  caused by a too-faithful reproduction of Vis behaviour.  And
       if you think other things are bugs "because Vi  does  it  differently",
       you  should  take  a closer look at the vi_diff.txt file (or type :help
       vi_diff.txt when in Vim).  Also have a look  at	the  compatible  and
       cpoptions options.



				  2006 Apr 11				VIM(1)




Yals.net is © 1999-2009 Crescendo Communications
Sharing tech info on the web for more than a decade!
This page was generated Thu Apr 30 17:05:18 2009